USDA granted a 90-day extension of emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program lands for areas of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas affected by recent wildfires. Earlier this year, Reps. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma,
Roger Marshall of Kansas and Mac Thornberry of Texas wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to request the additional assistance. The Republican lawmakers noted it takes significant time to regrow the forage and rebuild facilities needed to maintain, contain and care for livestock. “I've lived all my life in northwest Oklahoma, but I have never seen anything of the magnitude of these fires,” Lucas said. “USDA's extension of emergency grazing on CRP acres will no doubt help ease the burden for farmers and ranchers in our part of the country by providing them with additional flexibility while forage is reestablished and fencing is rebuilt. I thank Secretary Perdue for working with us on this critical matter to help support producers impacted by these devastating wildfires.”
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